Slide projector tray



Jan. 9, 1962 O. W. BOUGHTON ETAL SLIDE PROJECTOR TRAY Original FiledMarch 18, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2m m w. ouGH TON CHARLES DEGRAVEJR KENNETHD. MAIER INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States PatentOfice Re. 25,115Reissued Jan. 9, 1962 f SLIDE PROJECTOR TRAY Olin W. Boughton,Canandaigua, Charles J. De Grave, Jr., Chili, and Kenneth D. Maier,Meudon, N.Y., by Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, assignee, a corporation ofNew York Original No. 2,931,116, dated Apr. 5, 1960, Ser. No. 722,296,Mar. 18, 1958. Application for reissue July 7, 1961, Ser. No. 127,430

Claims. (Cl. 40-79) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to slide trays and more particularly to trays forslide projectors of the type which provide means for intermittentlyadvancing the tray in order to successively move film slides into andout of projection position.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in a slideprojector of the type disclosed and claimed in our copending applicationSerial No. 640,710, filed on February 18, 1957. The instant applicationincludes the slide tray disclosure and claims, which were divided out ofsaid co-pending application, and, in addition, new matter which relatesto resilient holding means for the film slides.

An object of this invention is to provide in a slide tray of the typedescribed improved releasable holding means for retaining the slides inthe tray whereby the movement of the slides into and out of the traywill be under positive control'so that jamming of the operation isprevented.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved slide traywhich is adapted to permit the Inove-y ment of a film slide engaginglinger therein both from one side of the tray and across the top thereofthereby minimizing the length of the finger in the direction of itstravel.

` Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:V

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the slide tray of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of one end portion of the slide tray;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the tray with parts broken away;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the portion of the slide tray shown in FIG.12;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views taken on lines 5 5 and 66, respectively, in FIG. 13 and showing a portion of a film slide inposition with respect to the confining walls of the slide tray;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a portion of the tray showing a spring slideretaining member mounted thereon;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the tray showing the frontal edge of thespring member;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of FIGB-and'showing one of the spring elements of the retaining member;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10 10 of FIG.8 and showing one of the spring elements in cooperation with an edge ofa film slide;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view ofthe spring i slide tray;

tion to each other for sequential movement into and out of projectionposition. The slide tray, generally indicated by the reference numeral10, may be manufactured from any suitable material such as resin, metal,etc., and by any process. As shown in the drawing, the tray comprises yarectangular shaped plate or base 12 which has integrally formedtherewith the generally U-shaped partitions or dividers 14 in spacedrelation for dening compartments 16 each of which is adapted to containa single film slide or transparency. The underside of the base 12 isprovided with a rack 18 which may cooperate with a drive pinion (notshown) of a slide projector to successively advance the tray.

End walls or plates 20 are secured to and extend upwardly from the endsof the base plate 12 and across the tops of these end plates and thetops of the dividers 14 at one corner thereof, there is secured arelatively narrow top wall member or index strip 22. Numericaldesignations 24 are suitably embossed on the strip 22 adjacent eachcompartment between the dividers 14 and these numerals serve to indicateeach of the transparencies in the tray for indexing purposes. vA narrowstrip or side wall member 26 is secured across the front side of thetray 10 and is connected to the backs of each of the dividers 14 and tothe end plates 20 at the lower portion of the edges thereof. Theresulting frame for the tray comprising the base or support plate 12,the dividers 14, the end walls or plates 20, and the wall lmembers orstrips 22 and 26 offer a compact'and rigid structure for supportingtransparencies for purposes of loading in a suitable slide projector andfor permanent storage elsewhere. The front of the strip or wall member26 includes a rack 28 which may be adapted to cooperate with a manuallyoperable gear train (not shown) for moving the tray 10 in eitherdirection within a tray holder.

It will also be noted that with the top strip or wall member 22 coveringonly a small area adjacent one corner of the tray and the front strip orwall member 26 covering approximately half of the front side of the trayadjacent the corner diagonally opposed to the strip 22, one corner ofthe tray for a substantial area is left free of supporting structure(see FIG. 3). The purpose for this unobstructed corner and top surfacewill be appreciated `when considering the movement of a film slidecarriage between preprojection and projection positions. Generally, filmslide carriages include a film slide engaging finger which enters thecompartments of a slide tray in order to remove a film slide therefrom.,The finger enters one side of the tray and must be of such a length thatit will be able to move the film slides into projection position. Sincethe finger must clear the tray in order to permit advancing movey mentof the tray, the finger will necessarily be long and require an excessof space on the side of the projector from which it moves. In thepresent invention, a film slide engaging nger may be moved through thetray by cutting the open corner and the upper surface thereof for asubstantial distance terminating adjacent the strip 22. In this manner,the length of the finger measured in the direction of its travel may besubstantially reduced and the projector itself made more compact withrespect to the additional space usually required for the finger.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the open ends of the U-shaped dividers areopen to the rear of the tray 10 or to that side which faces theprojection apparatus. This will enable unobstructed movement of a filmslide A into and out of the tray 10. The lower ends of the compartments16 between the dividers 14 are defined by a pair of angular fillets 30which are adapted to Contact and support the lower edges 32 of the frameof film slide A. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower edges of the compartments16, near the entrance thereof, adjacent the open ends of the dividers14, are flat and from this point and running along the lower ends of thecompartments 16 toward the front strip 26, the fillets 30 taperupwardlyV reaching their greatest thickness near thevfront strip'. Thefront ends of the compartments 16 adjacent the front strip 26 areprovided with angular fillets 34 in the corners thereof and as will beseen in' FIG. 13, the fillets 34 extend for only a short distance. Thefunction of the fillets 30 is to direct and maintain each of thetransparencies in a centered position within the compartments 16 duringtheir movement into the tray ,andV storage therein so that thetransparencies are equally spaced from one another. The fillets 34 serveto assist in positioning the transparencies in parallel relation withthe dividers 14 and maintain them in this position. The fillets 30 and34, in effect, present a means for holding the transparencies in equallyspaced relationship at all times so that during continual actuation ofthe slide carriage, the film slide engaging finger will be able tocontact each of the transparencies squarely and without any danger ofslipping between a transparency and a divider and lodging therebetween.

In FIGS. 7-12, there is shown a spring film slide retaining member whichmay be easily attached to the slide tray 10 and which serves to preventthe accidental falling out of the film slides from the tray. The springmember, indicated by the numeral 40 and shown in` FIG. 11, is made ofspring material and comprises a flat elongated strip 42 having arelatively short depending portion 44 and a long depending portion 46;The short depending portion 44 is formed with longitudinally and equallyspaced tongues 48 with cutouts 50 spaced therebetween. Similarly, theportion 46 is formed with equally spaced spring elements 52 with cutouts54 spaced therebetween. The cutouts 50 and 54 are of equal width, areintransverse alignment, and have a width slightly greater than thethickness of a slide divider y14. In turn, the tongues 48 and theelements 52 are of equal width, are transversely aligned, and have awidth slightly shorter than the width of a compartmenty 16 in the tray.As shown in FIG. 1l, the springelements 52 are slightly curved in thedirection of the opposite portion 44. y

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the spring member 40 is adapted to be mountedupon the top wall member or strip 22 of the tray and, consequently, isof such a length as to extend fully between the end walls 2f). The strip42 lies fiush with the top surface of the strip 22 and the dependingportion 44 is bent in order to engage the inside edge of this strip, asshown in FIGS. 9 and l0. ln order to secure the member 40 upon thestrip, a suitable crimping tool may be utilized in order to further bendthe portions 44, 46 around the Strip. This is shown in FIG. l2, whereinthe prongs 56, 58 of a crimping tool are illustrated being driventogether, as indicated by the arrows, in order to bend the portion 44into engagement with the under surface of the strip 22 thereby securingtheV member 40 thereto and to bend the portion 46 around the other edgeof the strip. lIt will be noted in thelatter step, that the springelements 52 are left free to extend away from the lower surface of thestrip 22, as` shown 1n FIG. 9, the position the elements normally occupywhen there are not film slides in the tray.

When a film slide A is inserted in a compartment, the upper edge of theslide will engage the curved portion of the respective spring elements52 and ride therealong, as shown in FIG. l0. In so moving, the elementwill be forced upwardly thus continuously exerting a force Vupon theslide A for maintaining the same within the compartment. It ispreferable that the thickness of the material used to form the member 40is such as to provide Yonly a slight force upon film slides and therebyavoid excessive wear upon the edges of the slides.

Suitable openings 60 may be formed, by stamping, in the strip 42 inorder to allow the showing of the numerals 24 imprinted upon the slidestrip 22, as shown in FIG, 7.

'From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the presentinvention provides a slide tray having certain novel features whichpermit the extension of film slide engaging fingers across the plane ofthe top surface thereof thereby reducing-the size of the nger requiredto extricate a slide. 'In addition, means are provided for centeringeach of the slides within their corresponding tray compartment in orderto insure their proper engagement with a film engaging finger andminimize wear and tear of the slides; A novel arrangement of a springretaining member is utilized in' order to hold the slides within thetray. With these features and arrangements, the improved slide tray ofthe present invention fulfills the objects previously referred to. l

While there is in this application specifically described one form whichthe invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that thisform. is shown for purposes of illustration, and that the same may bemodified and embodied in various other forms or employed in other useswithout departing from the spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim: j y

[1. A slide tray'for holding a plurality of picture slides which are tobe successively advanced into projection position in a slidel projectorand returned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising anelongated frame of generally, rectangular cross-section, onelongitudinal side of said frame being in the form of a rectangular wallcovering approximately all of said one side, a longitudinally extendingsidev wall which only partially covers a second side of said frame andhaving one longitudinal edge contiguous with an adjacent longitudinaledge of said rectangular wall', a longitudinally extending narrow stripalong the edge of a third side of the frame diagonally opposed, whensaid frame is viewed in cross-section, to said one edge of said secondside, the fourth side of said frame being open su'iciently forpermitting the ingress and egress of slides, and dividers spacedlengthwise along the interior of said frame and being 4mounted thereinfor defining compartments therebetween] v [2. A slide tray as defined inclaim l including a metallic member extending along the top of saidstrip and having a depending portion wrapped around one edge thereof andanother depending portion bent around the other edge of the strip, saidother depending portion including spaced resilient elements extendingrespectively within the compartments between the dividers for engagingthe respective edges of film slides in the compartments to therebyreleasably retain the slides therein] [3. A slide tray as defined inclaim l including a metallic member extending along the top of saidstrip and having a depending portion wrapped around one edge thereof,said depending portion including a plurality of spaced tongues each ofwhich extends into an adjacent compartment and engages the under surfaceof the strip whereby the member may be secured thereto, said member alsoincluding another depending portion being bent around the other edge ofthe strip, said other portion having a plurality of spaced resilientelements each of which extends into an adjacent compartment between thedividers for engaging an edge of a film slide in the compartment andthereby releasably retain the slide therein] f4. A slide tray forholding a plurality of picture slides which are to be successivelyadvanced into a preprojec- `tion position of a slide projector by a trayadvancing diagonally opposed when said frame is viewed in crosssectionto said one edge of said second side, the fourth Side of Said framebeing open sufficiently for permitting the ingress and egress of slides,dividers spaced lengthwise along the interior of said frame and beingmounted therein for defining compartments therebetween, each of saidcompartments being adapted to contain a slide, and means formed withineach of said compartments for centering each of the slides therein andfor aligning each of the slides parallel to adjacent dividers, at leastone of said lwalls having a rack carried therewith being constructed andarranged to cooperate with the advancing mechanism.

[5. An elongated tray for holding a plurality of picture slides whichare to be moved seriately into projection position in a projector andreturned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising a base, endwalls projecting upwardly from the respective ends of the base, aplurality of partitions extending upwardly from the base and arranged inlongitudinally spaced relation for holding a plurality of slidestherebetween, a longitudinally eX- tending side wall member which onlypartially covers one side of the tray and is located below the top edgeof said side, said wall member being integrally formed with said spacedpartitions and the end walls, a longitudinally extending top wall memberwhich only partially covers the top side of the tray and is integrallyformed with the end walls and the partitions adjacent the upper part ofthe other side of the tray, said other side of the tray being openwhereby slides may be moved into and out of the spaces between therespective partitions by actuating devices which project in through theuncovered portions of said first-named side and top of the tray.]

6. A slide tray for holding a plurality of picture slides which are tobe successively advanced into projection position in a slide projectorand returned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising anelongated frame of generally rectangular cross-section, one longitudinalside of said frame being in the form of a rectangular wall coveringapproximately all of said one side, a longitudinally extending side wallwhich only partially covers a second side of said frame and having onelongitudinal edge contiguous with an adjacent longitudinal edge of saidrectangular wall, a longitudinally extending narrow strip along the edgeof a third side of said frame diagonally opposed, when said frame isviewed in cross-section, to said one edge of said second side, theremainder of said third side of the frame being uncovered andunobstructed, the fourth side of said frame being open sujjficiently forpermitting the ingress and egress of slides, and dividers spacedlengthwise along the interior of said frame and being mounted thereinfor defining compartments therebetween.

7. An elongated tray for holding a plurality of picture slides which areto be moved seriately into projection position in a projector andreturned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising a base, endwalls projecting upwardly from the respective ends of the base, aplurality of partitions extending upwardly from the base and arranged inlongitudinally spaced relation for holding a plurality of slidestherebetween, a longitudinally extending side wall member which onlypartially covers one side of the tray and is located below the top edgeof said one side, said side wall member being integrally formed withsaid spaced partitions and the said end walls, a longitudinallyextending top wall member which only partially covers the top of thetray and is integrally formed with the end walls and the partitionsadjacent the upper part of the side of the tray opposite from said oneside, a relatively wide longitudinally extending portion of the top ofthe tray being uncovered and unobstructed to permit passage of a slidetransfer member between said partitions, said opposite side of the traybeing open whereby slides may be moved into and out of the spacesbetween the respective partitions by said slide transfer member whichprojects through the uncovered portions of said jrst-named side and topof the tray.

8. A slide tray for holding a plurality of picture slides which are tobe successively advanced into proje^tion position in a slide projectorand returned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising anelongated frame of generally rectangular cross-section, one longitudinalside of said frame being in the form of a rectangular wall coveringapproximately all of said one side, a longitudinally extending side wallwhich only partially covers a second side of said frame and having onelongitudinal edge contiguous with an adjacent longitudinal edge of saidrectangular wall, a longitudinally extending narrow strip along the edge0j a third side of the frame diagonally opposed, when said frame isviewed in cross-section, to said one edge of said second side, thefourth side of said frame being open sufhciently for permitting theingress and egress of slides, dividers spaced lengthwise along theinterior of said frame and being mounted therein for definingcompartments therebetween, and a metallic member extending along the topof said strip and having a depending portion wrapped around one edgethereof and another depending portion bent around the other edge of thestrip, said other depending portion including spaced resilient elementsextending respectively within the compartments between the dividers forengaging the respective edges of film slides in the compartments tothereby releasably retain the slides therein.

9. A slide tray for holding a plurality of picture slides which are tobe successively advanced into projection position in a slide projectorand returned to the tray after projection, said tray comprising anelongated frame of generally rectangular cross-section, one longitudinalside of said frame being in the form of a rectangular wall coveringapproximately all of said one side, a longitudinally extending side wallwhich only partially covers a second side of said frame and having onelongitudinal edge contiguous with an adjacent longitudinal edge of saidrectangular wall, a longitudinally extending narrow strip along the edgeof a third side of the frame diagonally opposed, when said frame isviewed in cross-section, to said one edge of said second side, thefourth side of said frame being open suciently for permitting theingress and egress of slides, dividers spaced lengthwise along theinterior of said frame and being mounted therein for definingcompartments therebetween, and a metallic member extending along the topof said strip and having a depending portion wrapped around one edgethereof, said depending portion including a plurality of spaced tongueseach of which extends into an adjacent compartment and engages the undersurface of the strip whereby the member may be secured thereto, saidmember also including another depending portion being bent around theother edge of the strip, said other portion having a plurality of spacedresilient elements each of which extends into an adjacent compartmentbetween the dividers for engaging an edge of a film slide in thecompartment and thereby releasably retain the slide therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,602 Wiklind .Tune 28, 1955 2,756,630Goldberg July 31, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 319,726 Germany Mar. 25, 1919OTHER REFERENCES Publication: Yankee Photo Products, Peb. 15, 1957.Class 88-2SB. (Copy in Div. 7.)

